Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at least four times in his first 100 days in office – in a sign their relationship isn’t quite as frosty as it outwardly appears.
The PM’s diary from July to December 2022, the months immediately after he was elected to office, was released under Freedom of Information laws after a drawn-out, year-long battle with former independent senator Rex Patrick.
Some 734 meetings and appointments from that period were redacted by government officials and therefore not available to the public, but Daily Mail analysed the remaining contents of the diary.
Mr Dutton was one of the only figures to have repeated face-to-face meetings with Mr Albanese.
His chats with Mr Albanese far surpassing the likes of former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (one meeting, 30 minutes), NRL boss Andrew Abdo (once, five minutes) political commentator Peter Van Onselen (twice – a 90-minute meeting and a 30-minute GQ interview) and bigwigs from mining corporation Rio Tinto (once, an hour).
Mr Albanese regularly worked seven-day weeks, met with a broad spectrum of parliamentary colleagues and caught up with business heavyweights
Pictured: a snapshot of what a day in the life of a Prime Minister looks like
The schedule offers an insight into the day-to-day life of a PM. Over that period, Mr Albanese regularly worked seven-day weeks, met with a wide variety of parliamentary colleagues and caught up with business heavyweights.
But any potentially juicy meetings or appointments Mr Albanese attended during that period weren’t made available to the public as they were considered to be confidential information under s37 of the Freedom of Information Act.
That section states that releasing such details could ‘endanger the life or physical safety of any person’ or ‘disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential source of information’.
Peter Dutton’s four meetings with the PM
During Mr Albanese’s first 100 days, the PM carved out repeated meetings with his inner circle of senior ministers – namely Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.
Both those ministers described by an anonymous Labor insider in a Nine newspapers report this week as figures who are so close to Mr Albanese they are like ‘deputy PMs’.
Then there is Mr Dutton.
Despite their repeated – and often heated – political brawls in the chamber and in the media, both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have indicated they have a decent relationship behind closed doors.
Just weeks after winning the election, Mr Albanese said: ‘Peter Dutton, I must say, I have a much better relationship with Peter Dutton than I had with Scott Morrison.
‘Peter Dutton has never broken a confidence that I’ve had with him.’
The duo first had a brief 15-minute meeting on July 26, the diary said. That was followed by 30 minutes on September 5, again on September 12, and again on October 27, joined on that occasion by Indigenous ns Minister Linda Burney.
That could well be related to Mr Albanese’s push for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament – which failed after Mr Dutton refused to provide bipartisan support for the measure.
A spokesperson said: ‘The Government works constructively across the Parliament.
‘The Prime Minister regularly meets or has discussions with the Opposition Leader.’
Despite their repeated – and often heated – political brawls in the chamber and in the media, both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have indicated they have a decent relationship behind closed doors
Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Alan Joyce before Qatar decision
The PM had just one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce between May and December 2022 schedule in his diary.
This meeting took place just a month after Qatar Airways made the now infamous pitch to have more flight routes into .
The pair met from 11am to 11.30am on Wednesday, November 23, in the midst of a jam-packed day for the PM in which he had breakfast with the Governor-General, followed by five meetings in the morning with people whose names were redacted from his diary.
Transport Minister Catherine King received a departmental brief the following January, but did not formally block the request until July.
Toward the end of 2023, when the decision was made public, Ms King faced intense scrutiny about the decision, and both she and Mr Albanese were grilled over whether Qantas had any influence over the decision.
In the midst of that scandal and several other PR crises at Qantas, Mr Joyce stepped down from his role.
The PM had just one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce between May and December of 2022 schedule in his diary
PM on the world stage
One of the PM’s first tests on the world stage came just four months after assuming office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth.
Mr Albanese flew out to London on September 16 for the funeral, arriving via Stansted Airport and having one – redacted – 90 minute meeting in the afternoon.
He met with then-PM Liz Truss on the Saturday, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on the Sunday and was part of the international delegation during the Monday funeral.
By 6.50am on Tuesday, Mr Albanese was back in the air on the way home to .
One of the PM’s first tests on the world stage came just four months after assuming office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth
An earlier trip to Spain for the NATO summit was equally as jam-packed.
For four days straight, the PM’s diary was brimming with back-to-back meetings, briefings and media commitments.
On the Saturday before returning home, the PM scheduled an hour at famed impressionist art gallery Musee D’Orsay in Paris.
It was a rare moment of respite for Mr Albanese – and his brawls with Mr Dutton no doubt felt like a world away.